This story has been updated to reflect the change in venue for the soul food dinner on Thursday, Feb. 15.

Dinner + Theatre

The signature event of Black History Month will feature a dinner and theatre show on Thursday, Feb. 15. 

A soul food dinner will be held in the President’s Reception Room in University Commons starting at 5 p.m. (The same meal will be served in the dining hall for dinner that day). Then, at 6:30 p.m. in Lehman Auditorium, showgoers will be treated to – Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance performed by the . The music theatre work celebrates three great African American poets: Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Claude McKay, as seen through the eyes of renowned painter and muralist Aaron Douglas.

Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services at 91短视频, said patrons can expect to hear jazz from the Harlem Renaissance, a pivotal cultural and artistic movement in the 1920s and 鈥�30s.

鈥淚t will be a night where people can dress up and have a nice meal and go to the performance,鈥� she said.

The artists who make up the Core Ensemble group performing the show are cellist Syneva Colle, 91短视频 Music Program Director and pianist David Berry, percussionist Michael Parola and actor Dracyn Blount.

Berry, who toured with the group for years when he lived in New York City before coming to 91短视频, said he was excited to help bring them to campus.

“Of Ebony Embers is a powerful one-person show that delves into the lives of several figures from the Harlem Renaissance while capturing the spirit of the era with live music from the time,鈥� said Berry. 鈥淒racyn Blount is a terrific actor and captures the heart of the different artists he portrays beautifully鈥�

Tickets for the combined dinner and theatre show are $30 for faculty, staff and the public and $10 for students. Tickets for the theatre show only are $10 for faculty, staff and the public and free for students.

Tickets can be purchased online by scanning the QR code above through Tuesday, Feb. 13.

In addition to Multicultural Student Services, the event is co-sponsored by the Music Department, Theatre Department and with partial funding from a DEI Inclusive Excellence grant.

Gospel Choir

Just in time for Black History Month, the 91短视频 Gospel Choir is getting a reboot.

The Gospel Choir will makes its debut performance at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4, during Celebration Student-led Worship in Lehman Auditorium. The group will perform a half-dozen songs and share the history of gospel music. The choir is led by 91短视频 student Mikayla Pettus and will be accompanied by Berry on piano.

The Gospel Choir also will perform a song each for Convocation on Wednesday, Feb. 7 (accompanied by the Rev. Timothy Dorsey), and on Wednesday, Feb. 21 (accompanied by Berry), at 10:10 a.m. in Lehman Auditorium.

Pettus said the Gospel Choir is a diverse set of students, and includes chamber choir members, athletes and people from all types of backgrounds. Some of the members have grown up in a choir, while others have never sung before. 

Part of the reason to bring back the Gospel Choir, she said, was to diversify music for students and for convocations to feature a different type of music.

鈥淎 lot of Black students wanted an outlet to sing gospel music songs and have worship in their own way, and we welcome everyone to join and worship with us,鈥� Pettus said.

Washington, D.C., trip

On Wednesday, Feb. 28, the Multicultural Student Services office will sponsor a bus trip to Washington, D.C. 

Those on the trip will visit the:

• National Museum of African American History and Culture;
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial;
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library;  
• and the National Portrait Gallery, which recently unveiled a portrait of TV star Oprah Winfrey.

All events, except for the D.C. bus tour trip, are open to the public.

For more information, visit or contact Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services, at celeste.thomas@emu.edu.

Join 91短视频 in celebrating Black History Month with a series of events planned by Multicultural Student Services and Black Student Alliance (BSA).

Feb. 8, Feb. 22, Mar. 22, Apr. 5, and Apr. 19, 10:10 a.m. (University Commons) Convocation Breakout Gatherings: Join Multicultural Student Services and the BSA in a space with an emphasis on the Black Experience and building community. If you are interested in learning about the variety of cultures within the African diaspora, this is the breakout session for you! Looking forward to seeing you.

Feb. 9, 7 p.m. (Student Union) Join BSA for a showing of the movie “Woman King” and talkback after. Enjoy half-price beverages from Common Grounds beginning at 8 p.m.!

Feb. 10, 7 p.m. (Student Union) Join BSA for a showing of the movie “Woman King.”

Feb. 15, 10:10 a.m. (Lehman Auditorium) Join the 91短视频 community in celebrating Black History Month with speaker George Johnson ’11, former 91短视频 star athlete and now author. Johnson returns to 91短视频 to share his triumphant story of Double Crossed, which chronicles his journey leading up to, during, and life after his tenure as a Royal. A Q&A will follow the convocation.

George Johnson, 2011 graduate of 91短视频, is a self-published author, serial entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and father. Born and raised in Northside Richmond, Virginia, Johnson developed a strong passion for basketball and entrepreneurship at a young age. Because of his basketball talents, Johnson was recruited to play at 91短视频. As point guard, he helped lead the 2010 Royals to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight tournament. Now residing in Houston, Texas, Johnson operates multiple mental health outpatient facilities serving low-income communities throughout Texas and Virginia, along with running other successful businesses. He has endured a number of life-changing experiences, which led him to write Double Crossed, his memoir detailing these challenges and the mental effects of it all.

Feb. 16, 5:15 p.m. (91短视频 Dining Hall) Enjoy Soul Food Night in the cafeteria!

Feb. 16, 7:00 p.m. (Black Box Theater) After Soul Food Night, join us for Poetry Slam, which includes students from On the Road Collaborative and Harrisonburg High School Black Student Alliance.

Feb. 23, 7 p.m. (University Commons, Room 177 Meeting Room) Black History Month Town Hall (Topic TBD)

Feb. 26, 8 a.m. (depart from the Black Lives Matter mural in front of University Commons) Field trip to the National Museum of African American History & Culture and the Martin Luther King, Jr. monument in Washington, D.C.

Questions? Please contact Celeste Thomas, Director of Multicultural Student Services at celeste.thomas@emu.edu.

Epp and his colleagues collected stories, studies, and statistics for 10 years, culminating in the publication of Pulled Over in 2014. Epp, who is a public affairs professor at the University of Kansas, said his interest in police stops was piqued by聽 anecdotes from black and Latino students. He also had several students who were command-level police officers, and he observed a microcosm of the 鈥渃lash of cultures鈥� between those demographics.

Studies he cited show that police are much more likely to stop and search black and Latino people as opposed to whites. Other studies indicate that police are more likely to use violence against people of color as well. Fifty years after the civil rights riots and the marches from Selma, Alabama, and 40 years after the police reforms in response to those altercations, we still have Michael Browns, Epp noted. There is widespread distrust and fear of police among black and Latino populations.

Epp said that this fear and distrust do not result from blatant racism, such as an officer using slurs or being impolite in conduct, but rather from the system of stopping and searching people and cars when no crime has been committed. Termed 鈥渋nvestigatory stops,鈥� this tactic has been encouraged in police departments across the nation since the 1980s, he said. As opposed to traffic safety stops, which are in response to illegal or irresponsible driving with clear consequences, investigatory stops are an attempt to preemptively fight crime by stopping suspicious-looking people, trying to find drugs, or seeking to detect other illegal activities.

Because most investigatory stops don’t result in stopping crimes, police leaders have admitted that this policy becomes 鈥渁 numbers game,鈥� said Epp, in which police profile and stop as many 鈥渟uspicious鈥� people as possible in order to catch more criminals.

According to one study Epp cited, a young black man has a 28 percent chance of being stopped over the course of a year for investigatory reasons. By comparison, a young white man has only a 12.5 percent chance. And while stopping rates decline for all genders and races as they age, a black man must be around 50 years old to have as low a chance of being stopped as a 25-year-old white man. Whether because of outright training or indirect cultural norms, police officers apparently interpret 鈥渟uspicious-looking鈥� as 鈥渂eing black.鈥�

鈥淵ou don’t have to be a frank racist to be influenced by these stereotypes,鈥� Epp said.

Student Hans Bontrager-Singer said he appreciated how Epp emphasized that police training is responsible for much of the racial stereotyping.聽 鈥淚 think it is important to remember that the police are 鈥� for the grand majority 鈥� trying to do their job the way the force says they need to do their job,鈥� said Bontrager-Singer.

But police assuming, and acting as if, blacks and Latinos engage in more illegal activity than whites 鈥渃auses real harm to individuals and has a corrosive effect on . . . democracy,鈥� said Epp. Tensions between people of color and the police are rising not just because of events like Ferguson, but because this mutual distrust is reinforced daily by investigatory stops, he stressed.

Epp noted that each race has learned different “lessons” regarding police stops. For white people, if you are not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear 鈥� that’s their lesson. But if you violate the law, eventually you will face consequences based on the severity of your infraction.

For people of color, however, the lesson is different. You 鈥渃ome to view police and the law as arbitrary and unpredictable,鈥� he said. Despite not being given a reason for being stopped, feeling violated, or being held indefinitely without cause, 鈥渢he best you can do is sit quietly. . . and try to avoid serious confrontation.鈥� Such practices breed fear, and enforce a racial hierarchy of first- and second-class citizens.

Despite evidence that they’re discriminatory and have repercussions, investigatory stops are still lauded as an effective way to prevent crime and create safety, Epp said.

鈥淭he problem is not aberrant police practice,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he problem is a best police practice.鈥�

Activities opened on Friday, Feb. 3, with a university chapel presentation by Luke Hartman, vice president for enrollment. Hartman spoke on the theme, “” and why it is important to do so.

Upcoming Black History Month events

• Movie Night! “Gifted Hands,” to be shown in Campus Center room 105 (Strite Hall) on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. Snacks will be served.
• “Rejoice and Shout!” To be shown in Science Center Auditorium (Room 106) on Friday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10 p.m. Admission is $1.50 with 91短视频 student identification. Sponsored by the campus activities council.聽
• Voting registration on Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., and 3-6 p.m. in South Dining Hall.
• University chapel forum on “Inspiring the Future,” with Esther Nizer, president of the Harrisonburg chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, on Friday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m., in Lehman Auditorium.
• A student and faculty panel discussion on race, diversity and self-segregation on 91短视频’s campus. The event will be held on Monday, Feb. 20, from 8-9 p.m., in . Admission is free.
• The annual Soul Food Caf茅 is back, 6-8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24. Come and enjoy a traditional African American dish while listening (and participating) in a surprise program. This annual event will be held in Martin Chapel of the Seminary building. General admission is $10 for faculty, staff and non-91短视频 students. 91短视频 students get in free with student identification.
• Jam Session! On Saturday, Feb. 25, jam out with TBO (The Best Out!) in Martin Chapel at 7 p.m.

鈥淭he Soul Food Caf茅 is a favorite, usually the last event in our month-long celebration,鈥� said , director of multicultural services at 91短视频. 鈥淐ome join us for any of these activities for worship, music, food and meaningful conversation.鈥�

For more information, contact Marvin Lorenzana at 540-432-4458 or email marvin.lorenzana@emu.edu.

But on Friday, 57 years after graduation, Landis and five classmates stood in the same Lehman Auditorium on the campus of 91短视频 singing that same tune.

The group of mostly retired 91短视频 professors sang in honor of their late classmate, Margaret “Peggy” Webb, the first black student to graduate from the school and co-author of the song.

“I wrote the words and Peggy put the music to it,” said Landis, a professor emeritus at 91短视频. “I’m not terribly proud of it anymore. I could do better now, I think.”

Landis chuckled about his songwriting skills, but he and his classmates are quite proud of once sharing the campus with Webb.

91短视频 professor invited the class members to sing as part of his Black History Month presentation in Harrisonburg, which focused on blacks and their involvement in the Mennonite community.

“Mark did a very good job of pulling together that history from the sources he used,” Landis said. “We don’t tell it often enough. People forget and we need to retell it again.”

Webb Was 鈥榁ivacious’

Sawin’s presentation at 91短视频’s weekly chapel forum touched on the history of blacks in the Shenandoah Valley as far back as 1790. While Mennonites back then did not approve of the idea of slavery, they tolerated it, Sawin said.

In 1920, the Virginia Mennonite Conference first debated allowing blacks in churches.

Admission was allowed, but, according to documents, the decision was made with “a word of caution against the integration and fellowship, which should not be too intimate.”

Peake Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg was the first in the VMC to baptize black people.

Webb’s mother, Roberta, taught school in the city from 1911 to 1922 and was very active at the Broad Street Mennonite Church, which opened in 1945. Roberta Webb was the first black person to live at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. She died in 1990, just before her 102nd birthday.

Peggy Webb was eager to be an educator like her mother and applied to Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 1945. VMC encouraged the school to instead enroll her at Hesston College in Hesston, Kan. She completed the two-year program and reapplied to Eastern Mennonite in 1952, three years after VMC allowed the school to make its own decision on admitting blacks.

Webb did her student teaching at the Lucy Simms School for blacks and graduated from EMS one month before the Brown v. Board of Education ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Classmate John Martin, also a retired professor at 91短视频, remembers Webb as a “vivacious” woman with many talents. Doris Bomberger, another classmate, remembers eating Sunday suppers at the Webb house.

“Oh, she was a sweet girl and she had a lovely voice,” Bomberger said. “They were a family that welcomed people into their homes.”

Student Moved By Song

CheRae Chaney, a black freshman from Portsmouth, participated in an opening praise dance before Sawin’s presentation and was inspired by the event.

“It was nice to know that he told the history, he didn’t sugarcoat it,” Chaney said. “I liked his unbiased truth about everything.”

Chaney was surprised the 1954 class song hadn’t been performed since that year’s graduation.

“I felt honored to be there when it was sung again,” she said. “Her story was really inspiring and it captured the essence of what I think Black History Month is.”

Anthony (Tony) Brown, artist-in-residence at Hesston College, Hesston, Kan., will present a concert 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91短视频. Brown, a baritone, will present “an evening of spirituals” as part of .

Brown’s specialty is singing music of the American experience. Referred to by some music critics as a “warm and noble baritone,” by some music critics, he has brought this music to audiences in places like the Rainbow Room in New York City, the Crystal Cathedral in Orange, Calif., and the Chicago Historical Society. Whatever the setting, Brown sings with passion and commitment.

His American music repertoire includes Broadway show tunes, opera arias, art song, folk ballads and spirituals. In 1995, he recorded his first compact disc of African American spirituals and was astonished by the immediate enthusiastic response to his music.

“It seemed that this music was awakening our primordial need for the Transcendent,” Brown said. “Our machine-like, fast-paced way of life has left us numb and out of touch with the essential and basic things of life. Efficiency and information overload take center stage while our hearts long for reflection, authentic human relationships and transcendence.”

Brown toured the multi-ethnic country of Bosnia in March 2002 under the sponsorship of the U.S. State Department in March of 2002.

“I was amazed with the overwhelming outpouring of love and acceptance when the people heard the spirituals,” he said. “This music tapped into their pain and brought us together.”

As an ambassador of Peace, he took this and other American music to Northern Ireland in late October 2003 where he toured for two weeks. In May 2005 Brown toured in the Peoples Republic of China. While in Asia, he made his concert debut in Sapporo, Japan. He was invited back to Northern Ireland in October of 2005.

His compact disc, “Embracing American Song,” recorded in 1999, offers a wide array of American songs from the romantic ballad to classic American folk songs. He released his second spirituals recording of spirituals, “Toil and Triumph,” in November 2002.

Brown collaborates with the distinguished baritone, Julian Patrick, and the up-and-coming baritone, Keith Harris, calling themselves “Three Baritones and a Lady.” The lady is Juilliard graduate Lisa Bergman, pianist. Together they perform across the country, singing a diverse repertoire.

Tickets in advance are $6, adults; $3 students; children 12 and under and seniors; admissions is $8 and $6 at the door. Tickets are available from the 91短视频 box office, 540-432-4582.

The concert is co-sponsored by 91短视频 and the office.

91短视频 will launch February “” activities with a presentation by local author and speaker Angie B. Williams of Harrisonburg.

Ms. Williams will speak on “Joy in Adversity” 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, in 91短视频’s Lehman Auditorium. (Click here for a complete schedule of activities!)

Sharing out of her own personal tragedies – including the loss of three babies and breast cancer – she will offer ways to achieve a balance between complacent resignation and faith in God’s power to have joy and victory while dealing with life’s trials.

Williams, a wife, mother, grandmother and retired federal employee, has been widely used in ministry in the United States and Canada. She has written a book, “Joy in Adversity” (21st Century Press) and was ordained in 2005 as a “pastor for special ministries” in Mennonite Church USA.

The chapel program is open to everyone free of charge.

For more information on Black History Month observances at 91短视频, call the office, 540-432-4458.

"Unconditional," a gospel music group from New York City, will perform at a "Soul Food Cafe" 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91短视频.

The concert, part of Black History Month observances at 91短视频, will feature artists Kimberly Joy Downing, first/second soprano; Krystal A. Livingston, alto/soprano; Annicia P. Thomas (alto); Kelly McKay Downing, bass; Dave Hosier, keyboardist; Douglas Deguire, drummer; Thomas Saunders, Jr. (bassist); and Chris Morgan (guitar/bass).

"What we’re seeking to do is provide a soul food restaurant atmosphere similar to what you’d find in New York City, with contemporary gospel music played during the meal and then the group performing afterwards," said Melody M. Pannell, director of at 91短视频.

General admission is $5 – $3 for students with I.D. – which includes an array of home-cooked Southern soul food and the concert.

For more information, contact the multicultural services office at 432-4458.

Area church and university gospel choirs – including the Northeast Community Choir, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Men of Zion, Lisa Henderson, 91短视频 Gospel Choir, J.C. Motion from JMU – and others, will present worship and praise music.

Admission is free; a free-will offering will be taken.

The concert, part of African American History Month observances, is sponsored by the office.

For more information, call 540-432-4458.